Hasti is a budding Bollywood journalist. She observes and interprets people under spotlight and beyond. She has completed her Post Graduation in Journalism and New Media. She is also a part time sketcher and runs her own blog.

Beaches are the best place to relax and rejuvenate yourself. There are some beach lovers who prefer to destress by the sea every week, alone or with their loved ones. A couple of days back I went to Goa with a bunch of friends and that happened to be the most amazing trip for me.

After a long day of travel we just wanted to relax and sleep at the hotel. We needed one enthusiastic friend to get us back on our lazy feet to explore the place. It happened to be a bright sunny day. We decided to head towards the well known Baga beach. As we all stepped on the sand, nothing could stop us from running across the shore.

After a while we were laying leisurely on the sand. I noticed a mid-aged man taking a walk across the beach, not allowing a few to cross certain limit in the water. Out of curiosity, I walked ahead to ask him why was he doing so. He told me that was his job. “I am a beach guard. People’s safety is my work. I need to take care of the visitors, especially ones who don’t mind getting reckless.” I was amazed that ‘Baywatch’ is not just a series or film. In real life there are these people who have no six packs, they are not drop-dead gorgeous, they do not run in slow motion and yet save our lives.

Mohan Koli. Lean and simple, but a beach hero indeed. I struck a conversation and it went on till sunset.

Like a very unusual day, he was keeping a check around the shore. There were couples, families, bachelors and all sorts of people enjoying on the beach. Mohan saw a teen boy run towards the sea with his dog. Mohan looked at the boy for long. He was reminded of his own young son. It was a treat for him to watch them have fun. He couldn’t relish the pleasure for too long though. Within the blink of an eye, Mohan got up alarmed. The boy had reached quite far inside the sea while playing. It wasn’t safe any more. He rushed towards them. The dog was already hit by the waves, the boy was struggling to get back to the shore. The crowd had suddenly gone all quiet, scared and tensed with the sudden turn of events. Mohan threw himself in the water and reached the boy in no time, though the sea had started getting violent. He pulled the boy towards the shore, battling the water with one hand. Later he went back to search for the dog, but it was too late. The poor creature was nowhere to be found. In all probability it had drowned.

The young boy was heartbroken and so was Mohan. Looking at Mohan’s eye I could feel the regret. Also I learnt something about him, and about humanity. Even though it was an animal drowning he didn’t think twice before diving into the danger he was cautioning about, to save the life of a dog.

We enjoy splashing water at beaches and taking risks to go deeper into the sea. While doing that we tend to take a few selfies and more pictures with the group. Many of us may have done it once in life. But are we really safe doing that? Is our life worth that one picture?
It’s good that we have life guards but why do we risk even their lives with ours? Isn’t it simpler to just be careful.